Los Lunas is set to host the Tiger Duals on Saturday, with the first matches to take place at about 9 a.m. The 12-team, one-day tournament is set to include such powers as Belen, Mayfield and Rio Grande.

One of the many highlights of Wednesday’s dual was the 120-pound match, which basically decided the team scoring. With Atrisco up 36-32 and only two matches left, Tiger freshman Adreanna Truesdell stepped onto the mat with the Jaguars’ Tristan Ortiz, making her the first girl to compete for a Valencia County varsity squad in many years.

Truesdell lost to Ortiz, 8-5, allowing Atrisco to go up 39-32, and the Tigers’ Ricardo Alvarado had to retire from the final match, at 138 pounds, with an apparent head injury.

The Tiger freshman, Truesdell, made Ortiz earn his win. She trailed 2-0 after one period and 6-2 after two periods, working mostly from the bottom. But she got a three-point near-fall in the final 30 seconds, and nearly pinned Ortiz, before the Jaguar got a reversal with 18 seconds left, and he hung on.

“Once he got the first takedown, I knew I had to get to my feet,” said Truesdell, whose older brothers, George and Charles, are football players who will move over to wrestling soon. “You can’t ever, ever give up in this sport.”

Some Tigers who have never been varsity regulars had impressive performances. Michael Freeman won by technical fall at 106 pounds, and Tristen Rasp pinned his 170-pound opponent after some work.

The Tigers don’t have many of their veterans available due to the LLHS football team’s deep playoff run. However, some seasoned Tigers were in action Wednesday.

Ed Rios, the Tigers’ 113-pounder, and 160-pound wrestler Patrick Guera each won by forfeit.

Not only are the Tigers missing several football players, including state champion Isaac Parra, but have other lineup sorting to do as well. For instance, the Tigers’ lone 2011-12 state finalist, Miguel Alvarado, was not certified at any weight in time for Wednesday’s dual.

“We expected a tough dual from Los Lunas,” said Atrisco coach Lorenzo Martinez. “They’re so deep. They look to be in mid-season form already.”